Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite break, probably my favorite holiday, and not only because of the food. For me it is that quintessential family time, sitting down together at the table, telling stories of the past and expressing our hopes for the future. It is a time to give thanks both silently and aloud for all of the blessings of this life. And then there’s the food…

One of my favorite things to do is ask the students what their favorite Thanksgiving Day food is. I love to watch their eyes as they think about this very difficult question—some can’t make a choice, some immediately respond, “pumpkin pie, or rice dressing or turkey.” The excitement in their eyes as they ponder all the possibilities is a perfect reflection of what Thanksgiving means to me. Whenever I think about the abundance that we are blessed with, my mind always turns to the miracle of the loaves and fishes. It is the only miracle that is recorded in all 4 Gospels, so it must be important. Here it is from Matthew:

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. ¹⁵When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ ¹⁶Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ ¹⁷They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ ¹⁸And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ ¹⁹Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. ²¹And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Now there are lots of things that people have focused on over the years about this passage: the argument of whether this is the miracle of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes or a miracle of the crowd sharing their hidden abundance is common. For me, though, the most interesting part of this story is the commandment that I highlighted in bold. The disciples’ first instinct was to send the crowd away to fend for themselves, but Jesus made it clear what their responsibility was. May this day make us all aware of our abundant blessings, and may we be a blessing to others. Happy Thanksgiving!